1972 Trident Flat-Tracker (Fiberglass Tank)
Hey George,Just wanted to say thanks again.
A quick summary for any potential customers out there:
I recently bought a 72 Trident flat-tracker. It had a cool maroon paint job with gold, silver and purple-fade ghost flames on the seat, fender and tank. I bought the bike from the original builders estate. The bike was sitting with gas in it for a few years and freakin Ethanol ate holes in the bottom of the tank by the petcock bungs. One of them was the size of a dime! The other was badly repaired with so much fiberglass, it looked like the tank had a thyroid problem. Now, it's good as new and not a scratch on the paint. I don't know how you do it but you saved me a new tank and now I don't have to repaint the entire bike.
I wish I knew about you before I sold my 72 Ducati 750GT. I probably could have gotten a bit more for it if the original fiberglass tank got the George treatment. It was leaking at the bottom even after being coated a couple of times with "over the counter brands". I ended up replacing the original with a steel tank from a 74.
I highly recommend your service for anyone that wants to coat the inside of a fuel tank for any reason.
Talk to you next time I need your help and thanks very much,
Chris
1965 BMW 750
I'm currently working on restoring my dad's... how many emails do you get that start like that? Anyway, you know the deal, I have an old BMW with a nice paint job I don't want fussed up, but the inside is gone. It sat for 19 years with half a tank of gas in it. There were chunks of rust that came out when I first turned it upside down.
I had a friend that had done a few restorations say that he could take a stab at it by using some combination of solvents, chains, more solvents, electrolysis (I think) and then finally POR15. Well, I wouldn't be emailing you if that worked. Half of it didn't stick to the walls, half did. The company said it was because he the tank was too moist inside when he put the mixture in.
Now, today, I find out that the holes in the bottom for the crossover tube that connects the two halves seems to have gotten sealed up in the process.
I like the guy, and he's really been helping me out, but I'm ready to go to the professionals to get the tank done.
I've attached a couple pictures. one is of the junk that came out, the other is of the tank before we did anything to it. and the last is a little difficult to see, but inside the hole you can see the sealer that should have stuck to the wall but didn't.
He also said we have 2 or 3 'pinholes' which doesn't sound good.
Let me know if you need more detailed pictures. I'm not sure my camera will get a shot of the inside, but I could try.
Feel free to contact me via email, or phone.
Thanks,
Bob
PS: If you just so happen know the guy I'm talking about, please don't tell him I emailed you. I don't want to come off like an ungrateful jackass, but I'm ready to ride this bike and I want a solution to this problem that I can trust.
1972 Kawasaki H2
Some of you know I've been fighting the battle between ethanol-mixed fuels and my fiberglass gas tank on my H2. Long story short: there was a liner in the tank that failed, ethanol eats the resins in the fiberglass and goes on to gum up the carbs and not a very enjoyable riding experience.
I tried stripping the old liner myself with a kit from KBS Coatings, and failed miserably. It's a game of flushing the stripper through long enough loosen the gobs and gobs of liner without letting it eat through the fiberglass, which it will do if it's in there long enough.
I gave up on that after having a miserable time with the MEK stripper, getting it everywhere after the seal I was using on the tank popped when flushing it, and nearly destroying the paint on the tank.
Enter http://www.fueltankservices.com/. I found them through google and was sold. They will strip and coat any tank (aluminum, steel, fiberglass, or carbon fiber) without damaging the paint or finish, and have a lifetime guarantee against any fuels. They have some videos on youtube of before and afters, and I was pretty impressed.
I sent my tank down to them at the end of January and got it back today. No test results of how it holds up, but with the lifetime guarantee I'm not too worried about it.
It didn't come really cheap at $375 but the tank was useless before, and with the price of a new one at $600 + paintwork + having to put a liner in it anyway, it was a bargain.
I'd recommend this place to anyone that doesn't want to have to mess around with stripping or lining a tank and not have to worry about it with a lifetime guarantee. I wish I had known about them 2 year ago when I first started fighting mine.
Dan
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